Brownfield sites are diamonds in the rough. While they may be unsightly, they often have existing infrastructure and utilities that undeveloped sites lack. There are an estimated 8,000 brownfield sites in the Bluegrass state, and the Kentucky Brownfield Program is working to get those properties back into productive use. While the approximate number of brownfields is known, their locations are not. Below you will find links to resources that can help you identify some of the brownfield sites in Kentucky. There are numerous brownfields that are not included in these lists. In addition, just because a property is included on one of these lists does not mean that it is a brownfield. Many properties on these lists are now clean and home to active businesses.

Kentucky Brownfield Inventory– This list consists primarily of properties that are receiving, or have received, assessments and/or cleanups under federal brownfield funding to states or local government entities.

State Superfund List– This is a list of sites where a release or threatened release of hazardous substances has occurred and the state provided oversight for the investigation and remediation of the sites. This list includes voluntary cleanups. (If a site represented an imminent threat to human heath and the environment and a responsible party could not be found or was unable or unwilling to act, the state may also have taken a direct role in conducting the investigation and remediation at the site.)

These sites are not all brownfields. Some of the reported releases proved to be non-incidents. Some of the sites are transportation accidents, abandoned barrels, pumping stations or are otherwise unsuitable for development. Many of them are active businesses that properly addressed the release and continued in operation.

When a site on the list is listed as closed, that only means that a specific release was addressed. A potential purchaser is advised to conduct All Appropriate Inquiries, also known as a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, to get a complete and up-to-date assessment of the property. All Appropriate Inquiries are one of the key steps to establishing Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Liability Protection.

NOTE: The names on the Superfund Site List are for identification purposes only. They should not be taken to represent responsibility or culpability of the businesses or individuals associated with the name.

Open Records RequestsTo view or obtain copies of environmental records for a particular property, you may file a Open Records Request. The File Room is also able to provide lists of properties governed under other regulatory programs, such as the Underground Storage Tank Program.

Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development

Secondary Sites List In addition to its regular lists of buildings and properties, the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development maintains a Secondary Sites List. These sites are categorized as secondary sites because they do not meet the cabinet's criteria for primary sites, but are available for business location and expansion projects. In some cases, the designation is due to environmental concerns.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Cleanups in My CommunityThis website enables the user to map or list areas where pollution is being or has been cleaned up under the EPA's Superfund, RCRA and/or Brownfields cleanup programs. The website offers the user a number of options to specify the geographic search area.

Renewable Energy Interactive Mapping ToolThis website provides a data file that, used in conjunction with Google Earth, maps current and formerly contaminated land and mine sites and identifies their potential for generating various types of renewable energy.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky offers tax incentives and credits to individuals or businesses that complete a cabinet-approved cleanup on a qualified property. A qualified property means the cabinet has made the determination that:

All releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, petroleum or petroleum products on the property occurred prior to the property owner's acquisition of the property.

The property owner made all appropriate inquiries into previous ownership and uses of the property in accordance with generally accepted practices.

The property owner or a responsible party has provided all legally required notices with respect to the contaminants found at the property.

The property owner is in compliance with all land use restrictions and does not impede the effectiveness or integrity of any institutional control.

The property owner complied with any information request or administrative subpoena under KRS 224.

The property owner is not affiliated with any person who is potentially liable for the release of the contamination through direct or indirect family relation, any contractual, corporate or financial relationship or reorganization of a business that was potentially liable.

The cleanup was not funded by any other grant program.

For qualified parties, the state and local property tax rates on a remediated brownfield property are reduced. For three years following the issuance of a no-further-remediation letter, the property will not be subject to local ad valorem property taxes. The state ad valorem property tax rate will be reduced from 31.5 cents per $100 of assessed value to 1.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Qualified parties can also receive up to $150,000 worth of income tax credits for expenditures made in order to meet the requirements of the cabinet-approved cleanup. The allowable credit for any taxable year is a maximum of 25 percent of the credit authorized. The credit may be carried forward for 10 successive years following the issuance of a no further remediation letter.

Those wishing to claim tax credits must submit an application for approval. Applicants must submit the original application, two copies and all attachments to:

TAX INCENTIVE Program

Kentucky Division of Waste Management

Superfund Branch

200 Fair Oaks Lane

2nd Floor

Frankfort, KY 40601

This site is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to replace the statutes regarding the cleanup of contaminated properties and incentives available for those cleanups. For more information on the statutes governing cleanups, visit the Division of Waste Management's Voluntary Cleanup Program page. For more information regarding income tax incentives available for brownfield properties, see KRS 141.418. Property tax information can be found at KRS 132.010, KRS 132.020 and KRS 132.200.

Does your community have properties that need a little help? Do some buildings in the area have an environmental past? Are there old hospitals that are in disuse and attract crime? Do you have mine-scarred lands? Are there former dry cleaning establishments in town? If so, you could have a brownfield.

The Kentucky Brownfield Redevelopment Program seeks to help redevelop and revitalize properties that are abandoned or underutilized due to real or perceived contamination. There are an estimated 8,000 brownfields across the state. They include sites such as old gas stations, mine-scarred lands, abandoned factories, old schools and hospitals and meth labs. Our program offers comprehensive services to help with these problem properties. Check out our services below or check out our brownfield services video.

Free Assessments The program offers free Phase I and II environmental assessments to local governments, nonprofits and quasi-governmental agencies. Check out our Targeted Brownfield Assessment Program for more information.

Liability ManagementDuring the 2012 Kentucky legislative session, a law was passed to enhance programs aimed at the redevelopment of brownfield properties. The result was a redevelopment processthat provides property owners and prospective property owners (who can certify that they did not cause a release or have relationships with those who did, and who develop a plan to reuse the property safely) documentation that they will not be held responsible for conducting site investigation and remediation under Kentucky Superfund laws, specifically KRS 224.1-400and KRS 224.1-405. This program removes some of the uncertainty related to the purchase or redevelopment of brownfield properties.

Program staff can help identifyfunding for your project whether it is owned by a public or private entity. Kentucky, through a U.S. EPA Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund Grant, has created the Cleaner Commonwealth Fund for brownfield cleanups.

Help DeskThe Brownfield Help Desk connects you with a member of the Kentucky Brownfield Redevelopment Program that can answer your questions and help with issues surrounding your brownfield project.

Information and EducationInformation is power, and it is no different for brownfields. The staff works diligently to provide learning opportunities, informational programs and materials. If you are interested in future workshops, mailings and newsletters, contact us, and we will be happy to add you to our mailing list.

InventoryDo you own a brownfield that needs to be redeveloped or are interested in purchasing a brownfield property? The Kentucky Brownfield Redevelopment Program has established a voluntary brownfield inventory. Sites submitted to the program can be marketed by the program staff and are potentially eligible for free assessments, grants, low-interest loans, tax increment financing (TIFs) and tax incentives. Check out our funding page for more information.

Has conducted an "all appropriate inquiry" assessment of environmental issues at the property.

Takes care to prevent the environmental problem from becoming worse.

Takes appropriate steps to prevent or eliminate exposure to previously released hazardous substances.

Is willing to provide access to the property for cleanup purposes.

Does not disrupt any institutional controls or violate land-use restrictions designed to manage the contamination.

Has no affiliation with the party responsible for the contamination.

For more information on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rule on all appropriate inquiry and bona fide prospective purchaser liability protection, see the EPA's Brownfields Liability website. To be eligible for state and federal brownfield cleanup grants, an entity must be a Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser. Liability ProgramDuring the 2012 Legislative session, a law was passed to enhance programs aimed at the redevelopment of brownfields in the Commonwealth. The result was a program that provides property owners and prospective property owners (who can certify that they did not cause a release or have a relationship with those who did and who develop a plan to reuse the property safely) documentation that they will not be held responsible for conducting site investigation and remediation under Kentucky Superfund Laws, specifically KRS 224.1-400and KRS 224.1-405. For more information on this portion of the Kentucky Brownfield Redevelopment Program visit the redevelopment process page.

Community Input

Successful redevelopment is best achieved when local community members and officials are engaged and actively involved in the process.